StartupTalky

Tag: Entrepreneurship

  • A Complete B2B Marketing Strategy – B2B Lead Generation

    Today, a huge number of startups are setting their foot in the industry and are conquering the world with their innovative ideas. These startups follow different types of business models. A business-to-business startup, commonly known as a B2B startup, is a huge thing in the market these days. The whole idea of a B2B company is to establish a business that caters to the needs of other businesses. According to a report, 85% of B2B marketers say lead generation is their most important content marketing goal.

    However, running a B2B startup is a tough task as owners of such businesses need to look for suitable clients who require the goods or services that the company is offering. Moreover, generating B2B leads for your startup can become a hectic job and cause excessive levels of frustration. So here is our B2B marketing strategy. It will help you to generate B2B leads for your startup and proceed with their work strategies.

    What Is Business-To-Business Marketing?
    Pre-requisites for a Business-To-Business Marketing
    10 Ways of B2B Lead Generation for Your Startup 2022
    B2B Success Stories on Social Media

    What Is Business-To-Business Marketing?

    Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing mainly involves the vending of one company’s products and services to another company’s products and services. The goods could be used for the production of some other goods, for reselling it to the consumers or could be used in the general operations of the business.

    Pre-requisites for a Business-To-Business Marketing

    B2B marketing requires products for other companies. You should not just start off without even a rough idea in your mind. This will only lead to unproductive outcomes and will take you nowhere. The first thing that one should do is think about the product, its merits, and its demerits.

    Several questions should come to your mind before finalizing anything.

    • Is my product beneficial for the company?
    • What would be the gain that my product/service would provide to the clients?
    • How much will my product/service help the clients to earn?
    • What are the main advantages of my product/service that make it better than the others in the market?
    • What efforts can be made to improve the quality of the product/service?
    • What is the price structure of a similar product in the market?

    Conduct a thorough analysis of your products and services. Customer feedback is the best way to do this.

    10 Ways of B2B Lead Generation for Your Startup 2022

    Diversity

    All buyers of a B2B company will have different needs and wants, so an entrepreneur must make sure that their content addresses all the needs and demands. The content should fit the shoe and not be focused on just one thing to attract buyers from all around the globe.

    Stand Out

    The capabilities of a startup are judged by the content that is posted on their blogs or social media websites. Hence, this content needs to be attractive with infographic inputs and strategically placed to allow buyers to find them easily. Moreover, it gives a boost up to the startup showing true data in their content which makes them trustworthy.

    Pricing

    It is not a common practice to post prices on the company’s website as it hinders the chances of getting many opportunities, but if the prices are not posted, most of the queries would be to know the cost but not generally buy the services. Posting prices would decrease useless traffic and allow more room to focus on potential customers. Furthermore, the pricing strategy should be decided with a thorough competitive analysis for breakthrough performance.

    Relationships

    Having a healthy relationship with the client’s company is extremely important for the business to flourish, thus, building a good connection will allow the business to grow through word-of-mouth marketing. Although, word-of-mouth has a different approach it has always had a high conversion rate.

    Marketing

    Marketing is the best way to generate leads. In today’s technology-driven society online marketing is the major contributor to an increase in sales. Services can be marketed depending upon the needs of various buyers using social media platforms, blogs, or a well-developed website. Creating an email database to send occasional newsletters to potential buyers helps in boosting the business. In other words, email marketing is a great tool to generate B2B leads for the business.

    Sign up forms

    Sign-up forms for the company website should not be very long as that irritates buyers. The easier the signing up process the more potential buyers will sign up and add to the business. They should contain the basic details like name, email, phone number and address but not a whole lot of information that can be asked in later stages.

    Optimize the Landing Page

    The homepage of the company’s website or the social media profile should be SEO-friendly. Articulating content that would attract people. Make your content in such a way that it is displayed clearly on top Google searches. Most people do not go to the second page while searching for something on Google to make sure that the website comes in the first page in Google searches related to the keyword.

    Have a Q and A section

    Have a FAQ section, which is clearly visible on the website, to answer the most common queries on the website for people to properly understand the services. Ask present clients about the issues they may have faced while registering on the website, collect the information and create a questionnaire with answers by the team.

    Buy Leads From Various Platforms

    Startup owners can also buy leads from various online platforms that are selling them. There are many sites that provide quality leads with accurate information. B2B companies should collect as many leads as possible from these sites to help them in progress.

    Hire

    Owners can also hire a company that specializes in lead generation or hire freelancers that can generate leads and do promotions. Hiring freelancers residing in different countries can be profitable and will help in getting leads from various different countries. It is also inexpensive in nature and provides a quality result to generate B2B leads for your company.

    B2B Success Stories on Social Media

    Approximately, 69% of the Indian B2B marketers agree, social media is one of the major tools to engage potential customers. Statistics regarding the success of lead generation for B2B companies using social media marketing are quite high. B2B buyers are much more attracted to brands that have a strong social presence. They prefer the companies to present the information via social media.

    Some of the successful social media campaigns implemented by a few companies are:

    iYogi

    iYogi being a technical support company faced many difficulties in generating leads and creating brand awareness for its new service; Digital Service Cloud. The company chose LinkedIn to focus on the key areas of interest and target audience. The campaign was a huge success and helped to achieve 62% of the follower base in the duration of just three months.

    Deskaway

    The company chose Twitter along with paid media and Adwords for the purpose of selling its web-based team along with the project collaboration software. Product announcements, news, and blogs were shared on a continuous basis and thus, generating leads.

    Conclusion

    The above two examples show that social media is really an efficient tool for B2B marketers. It not only helps to increase brand awareness on a huge scale and target a bigger audience but also establishes a company as a thought leader. The company gets to connect easily with the clients and the prospects. Good relations are built with the people who can influence the industry. Social media and email marketing also trigger word-of-mouth conversations and help in optimizing the conversions for B2B companies. Keeping these important points in mind shall go a long way for B2B companies in creating a huge client base and gaining success in their business proceedings.

    FAQs

    What are 4 types of Marketing Strategies?

    Four types of marketing strategies are:

    • Market Penetration Strategy
    • Market Development Strategy
    • Product Development Strategy
    • Diversification Strategy

    What are the four types of B2B Markets?

    The four basic categories of business customers in B2B markets are producers, resellers, governments, and institutions.

    Is Amazon a B2B OR B2C?

    Amazon is both business-to-business B2B and business-to-consumer B2C.

  • Benefits of Startup India Initiative and How Businesses Can Avail Them?

    Every entrepreneur feels like working with a small kid while working on their dream project i.e. their startup idea. They want to get all the facilities in order to grow their startup from a grounded level to a full-fledged company. During this period of growing a startup to a company, every government provides all the needed facilities to a startup required by them.

    Likewise, the Government of India has also started the ‘Startup India Initiative’ on 16th January 2016. Entrepreneurs can avail the benefits of startup India Initiative for starting and growing their businesses.

    About Startup India Initiative by Government of India
    How to Register Under Startup India Initiative
    Benefits of Startup India Initiative by Government of India
    1. Self-certification
    2. Startup India Hub
    3. Simple Process
    4. Patent Protection
    5. Rs.10,000 Crore Startup Fund
    6. National Credit Guarantee Trust Company
    7. No Capital Gains Tax
    8. No Income Tax For Three Years
    9. Tax Exemption for the Investment of Higher Value
    10. Organizing Startup Fests
    11. Innovation Focused Programs for Students
    12. Setting up Incubators
    13. Research Parks
    14. Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology
    15. Dedicated Programmes in Schools
    16. Legal Support
    17. Rebate
    18. Easy Rules
    19. Faster Exits

    FAQs

    All about Startup India Scheme and Registration Benefits

    About Startup India Initiative by Government of India

    Startup India logo
    Startup India logo

    Likewise, the Government of India has also started the ‘Startup India Initiative’ on 16th January 2016, a pioneering initiative intended to support startups and budding entrepreneurs by providing them with the benefits of Startup India. The program primarily focuses on three major areas:

    • Simplification and Handholding.
    • Funding Support and Incentives.
    • Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation.

    The scheme facilitates the startup to be able to get recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in order to avail the abundant benefits to start their own business in India.

    How to Register Under Startup India Initiative

    There are three types of companies in India under which various startups get themselves registered:

    • Partnership Firm
    • Limited Liability Partnership Firm (LLP)
    • Private Limited Company

    The firm must fulfil the following eligibility criteria for Registration under Startup India:

    • A company must be registered as a Partnership Firm, Limited Liability Partnership Firm (LLP) or Private Limited Company.
    • The existence period of the company must not be more than 10 years from the date of incorporation.
    • The annual turnover of the company must not exceed Rs.100 crore for any financial year since its incorporation.
    • The entity should not have been formed by splitting up or reconstructing an already existing business.
    • The startup must work towards innovation, development, or improvement of products or processes or services and have an extensible business model with a high potential of wealth creation and employment opportunity.

    Once the startup fulfils the above-mentioned criteria, they are eligible to avail the following Startup India Scheme Benefits by the Government of India.

    Benefits of Startup India Initiative by Government of India

    1. Self-certification

    The startups shall be allowed to self-certify and comply through the Startup mobile app with 9 Labour Laws and 3 Environment Laws to avoid inspection concerning the registration of the firm, building and construction workers, employees’ provident funds, insurance cover and more.

    2. Startup India Hub

    By creating a virtual platform, the government facilitates the entire startup ecosystem to connect and engage with each other, enable knowledge exchange and access to funding.

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    3. Simple Process

    The process of startup registration has become simple with the launch of a mobile app and website. Any firm interested to get registered under Startup India may simply fill the form available at the website and upload the necessary documents. The entire process has become online.

    4. Patent Protection

    Several measures are taken under this scheme to promote awareness and adoption of the Intellectual Property Right (IPR) by the startup offices to aspiring entrepreneurs. This helps in giving protection or security to the entrepreneur as the dream project is now registered in the name of a single entity.

    5. Rs.10,000 Crore Startup Fund

    The Life Insurance Corporation of India plays a major role in developing this corpus to give them great startup India benefits. This helps in giving a cover to the startup and to the entrepreneur by giving the benefit of Rs.10,000 crore fund, depending upon the category and the future growth of a startup.

    6. National Credit Guarantee Trust Company

    The credit guarantees via National Credit Guarantee Trust Company have been planned with a budget of Rs.500 crore per year for the next four years to provide financial support to benefit entrepreneurs.

    7. No Capital Gains Tax

    The exemption shall be given on capital gains if that amount is invested in the Fund of Funds recognized by the Government. This gives an edge to a startup over getting the maximum amount of fundings from their investors, without paying a single penny in the form of tax due to value addition to the startup.

    8. No Income Tax For Three Years

    The entrepreneurs are exempted from paying income tax for the initial three years, as it will help the startups to grow in the future. Hence, the startup would be able to minimize the capital flow towards the government till significant growth is achieved.

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    9. Tax Exemption for the Investment of Higher Value

    Investment of higher value than the market price should be exempted from paying tax. This helps startups to get a funding of bigger amount and that too without any problem as they don’t have to pay tax for it.

    10. Organizing Startup Fests

    Startup fests would be organized at national as well as international stages to provide exposure to budding entrepreneurs. This is just helping in increasing the number of entrepreneurs and successful startups and their businesses in the country.

    11. Innovation Focused Programs for Students

    It is launched to boost innovation and encourage talented youth. This innovation will help in creating new ideas and jobs along with other beneficial services for the citizens of the country.

    12. Setting up Incubators

    Various incubation centers have been build at the National Institute of Technology (NITs) to provide startups with necessary guidance, skill development tips, mentoring sessions, tech support, networking, infrastructure, coworking space and more.

    Top 10 Startup Incubation Centers in India
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    13. Research Parks

    The government has set up Research Parks in various Indian institutes of Technology (IITs) with an investment of Rs.100 crore each. The startups can do their research and development work in these research parks.

    14. Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology

    The government will establish various biotechnology offices across the country in order to promote startups in the biotechnology sector.

    15. Dedicated Programmes in Schools

    The government will introduce innovation-related programs for students in school. For this, the government is introducing the subject related to startup and business. This will help in growing the mindset of the students towards the startup that will bring innovative ideas into existence.

    Through Startup India Initiative, Legal Support will be provided for new startup facilities and other official documents will be given. This could be very beneficial for a startup in its initial stages.

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    17. Rebate

    When the startup has to pay too much for tax, rent, or utility then the Startup India scheme provides relaxation by giving a rebate of 80%.

    18. Easy Rules

    Public procurement and rules of trading have been simplified for the startups in the Startup India Programs. The government has simplified all the rules and regulations of any startup which would further ease the movement of the business.

    19. Faster Exits

    If the startup fails again, the government will provide an easy way out. This will help the entrepreneur to get an easy exit without any problem. Hence, makes an easy entry and exit for an entrepreneur for his or her startup.

    FAQs

    What is Startup India?

    Startup India is a pioneering initiative of the Government of India intended to support startups and budding entrepreneurs by focusing on three major areas:

    • Simplification and Handholding.
    • Funding Support and Incentives.
    • Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation.

    Who is eligible for Startup India Benefits?

    Any company having an annual turnover not exceeding Rs.100 crore for any of the financial years since incorporation/registration.

    Why do startups fail in India?

    The reasons that are responsible for the failure of a startup:

    • Lack of innovation.
    • Lack of funds.
    • Lack of mentor.
    • Lack of focus and legal disputes.
    • Poor customer service and low-quality products.
    • Highly anticipated model against the nature and lifestyle of the target audience.

    What is the best startup business in India?

    Best Startup Businesses in India to start with:

    • Virtual Assistance
    • Freelancing
    • Reviewing Products
    • Affiliate Marketing
    • Graphic Designing
    • Podcast
    • Blog Monetization
    • Online Course Creation
    • Selling Products Online
    • Printing On Demand

    How can I start a startup in India?

    Steps to start a startup in India:

    • Check the feasibility of your idea in the market.
    • Do market research.
    • Keep an eye on your competitors.
    • Have a business plan ready.
    • Look for funds.
    • Register in Startup India Program.

    Do startup companies offer benefits?

    Yes, they do provide benefits like work from home, letters of recommendation, incentives and other perks like free meals and lunch.

    What are the main benefits of working in a startup?

    The main benefits of working in a startup over a corporate job are:

    • Your work will be acknowledged.
    • You’ll be given more responsibilities.
    • You’ll be learning a lot.
    • You’ll have a great experience working with true innovators.
    • You’ll get exposure.
    • Skill development.
    • Perks.

    What are the benefits of Startup India?

    The benefits of Startup India are as follows:

    • Self-certification.
    • Startup India Hub.
    • Simple Process.
    • Patent Protection.
    • Rs.10,000 Crore Startup Fund.
    • National Credit Guarantee Trust Company.
    • No Capital Gains Tax.
    • No Income Tax For Three Years.
    • Tax Exemption for the Investment of Higher Value.
    • Organizing Startup Fests.
    • Innovation Focused Programs for Students.
    • Setting up Incubators.
    • Research Parks.
    • Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology.
    • Dedicated Programmes in Schools.
    • Legal Support.
    • Rebate.
    • Easy Rules.
    • Faster Exits.

  • Spicetree founder’s fuelling thoughts on how to be a successful entrepreneur

    This article is contributed by Mr. Shiraz Khan, Founder/Director, Spicetree Design Agency. SDA is an integrated digital solutions agency with expertise in developing strategies across web design/development, print designs, digital marketing to brand identity and consultation in products & services.

    When you start a business and see it evolve into a successful organization, it is natural to think that it is all because of you. You start feeling like the boss. As the owner/founder of the business or the CEO.

    If you think entrepreneurship is about being the boss, then you are completely off the target. Any managerial position gives you the authority to issue orders, give instructions and ask people to follow your command. However, it doesn’t make you a successful entrepreneur. After having spent long years leading the team towards greater achievements, I (Shiraz Khan) can say with confidence that one can lead only by example.

    The first and foremost thing that every entrepreneur should remember is that they can’t complain. The business you have built is structured by your vision, and where it will go also depends on your vision for the future. Whether it is smooth sailing or adversity, an entrepreneur never loses sight of the big picture, and even in the toughest scenarios, they will focus on finding solutions and making progress. This hunger should never get satiated.

    One of the best ways to do so is to display solid work ethics and a zeal to perform. Be the first one to arrive at work and the last to leave.

    Isaac Newton had once remarked, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

    Every working day, I reach the office early just because I know that nothing works better than showing the way. People will adopt best practices when they see them in action. Instead of preaching the virtues of punctuality and an early start, I prefer to demonstrate how it is done.

    To be honest, there is ample chance of being misunderstood by people. Some people might see it as indirect pressure, and others as old-school practices, but what truly eggs me on is that my actions as a leader are going to motivate people to focus on self-improvement. I am giving them the reason to walk the path of self-betterment. It is this responsibility of a leader, and the opportunity to bring about a change each day, that makes me step forward with double enthusiasm, each morning.

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    A major challenge that I have seen a lot of people struggle with, is monotony, boredom, or the complacency that creeps in subtly and creates a negative, low-energy environment at workplaces. It is important to be constantly on the guard against such a negative state of mind. As a leader of my pack, I enthusiastically promote a work culture and environment that helps my employees align their job responsibilities with their purpose and enjoy doing what they do.

    Being the Founder-Director makes me the torchbearer for my people and leads them to achieve organizational as well as their own growth. I have constantly strived to build an environment full of equal and attractive opportunities for all the employees. A company’s growth is best exemplified by the growth and success achieved by its people. If the people are unhappy and stagnant then the company is not doing well, and if the people are happy, full of purpose then the company will scale faster. Also, the opportunities for growth shouldn’t just be decided from the top down. As the leader, I believe it is crucial to ensure that the opportunity is packaged and presented in a manner that entices people to go for it.

    Also, there is no doubt that being able to command the ship and having a good grasp on the pulse of the business is the greatest joy for an entrepreneur. Whether it is internal management of the company or the successes one achieves in the market, it is highly satisfying to see that each gain benefits all the people. This is one of the major factors that drives me towards finding new and interesting avenues of growth for the people around me.

    The best part of leadership is to see that each and every person around you get better at the game, each day. Once you are able to inculcate that culture and zeal in the organization, everything else falls into place automatically!

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  • Entrepreneurial Quotes And Life Hacks Of Elon Musk

    Elon Reeve Musk is a technology enthusiastic entrepreneur, using his sharp and clever mind in technological investment, and engineering. Elon Musk is trying to save the world by recreating and innovating every industry he has come across with, be it media and finance to transportation and energy.

    He is the Founder, CEO, CTO and Lead Designer of SpaceX and also the product architect of Tesla Inc. He also has other ventures and has a net worth of $171.6 Billion and is the third richest person in the world right now. Musk is one of the most admired people, especially for his creative and innovative skills.

    Life Lessons by Elon Musk
    Top Entrepreneurial Quotes by Elon Musk
    Some small tips from Elon Musk’s speeches at various university
    Elon Musk’s work formula

    Life Lessons by Elon Musk

    Elon Musk
    Elon Musk

    1. Hardwork is the key to success

    Work harder than the average people. Don’t work 100, but 150 percent, which will give you the edge over all the people. Hard work always pays and working hard more than the other humans, will be always beneficial.

    2. Work with smarter guys

    “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” This quote works well while hiring people. If you hire one smart guy instead of 3 normal guys. In that case, one guy working for 1 hour is better than two guys working 6 hours and also saves man-power. It is a mistake to hire huge numbers of people to get a complicated job done. As number will never compensate for talent, getting the right answer will tend to slow down progress, and will make the task incredibly expensive. The personality of a person also matters along with the talent the person has and these two traits go hand in hand.

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    3. Professionalism in business

    Don’t always be nice to people. In business, be as direct as possible. Give higher priority to goals than money. Have a higher goal in life rather than focusing on making money. The money will be the outcome of the higher goals. Know as many details as you can know of your work, to be an expert in your field.

    4. Believe on your decisions

    If something is important enough and there are odds against it, against you, you still have to pursue it. Persistence is very important. You should not give up, unless you are forced by your mind to give up.

    5. Clear vision

    If one has a vision and is continuously working on the idea, then Nothing is impossible. Life is too short for long-term grudges. Know what motivates you. Keeping your eye on the ball is key. The key to success and to fulfill your dreams is having clear vision.

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    6. Listen to your instincts

    Follow your guts. Listening to one’s instincts is natural to everyone but we usually tend to curb down our natural thoughts owing to external response and stimuli. Don’t do it. Follow what your inner mind says and block out all the external thoughts. It is never too late to find out what one loves and pursue it as a dream.

    7. Learn from your failure

    Learn from your failures and keep going. Learn from your mistakes. See what went wrong and what is stopping you from getting the desired results. Work on it and keep moving. Everyone follows the heard, try to break-free of the heard and challenge the norms. The one who breaks the mediocrity are the ones who become successful in life and everyone follows them. Don’t be afraid of new arenas. Always consider failure as an option and keep hustling.

    8. Be like water

    Always have a adaptive nature and be comfortable with the change. No one knows what challenges might come in future. Successful people knows how to adapt to any situation and they continue pushing themselves to reach their goals. No matter what comes in the way, embrace it, and try to solve the problem instead of complaining about it.

    9. Improve the Product, not the marketing

    The bigger a company gets, the more it spends on marketing, and in some cases, their marketing budgets surpass the budget of any other aspect of their business. This means that you are investing more in improving promotion than in improving the quality of your product. Focus on improving the product. The word-of-mouth will do the marketing for you.

    10. Work consistently

    Consistency is the key. It’s matters a lot and takes time. In order to be consistent, you have to maintain positive behavior and perform day after day, until you get what you desire. If you get what you desire, then celebrate for a while. The prizes are not an excuse to take rest. There’s nothing wrong with taking some time to celebrate and enjoy your successes. But yeah, don’t celebrate too much and get derailed from your goal.

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    Top Entrepreneurial Quotes by Elon Musk

    “You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of problems you solve”

    “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

    “Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.”

    “I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan to sell a company.”

    “People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working.”

    “Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people behind it as the product they sell.”

    “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.”

    “You have to say, ‘Well, why did it succeed where others did not?’”

    “As much as possible, avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies.”

    “Don’t delude yourself into thinking something’s working when it’s not, or you’re gonna get fixated on a bad solution.”

    “I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens.”

    “If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.”

    “I don’t spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems.”

    “People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.”

    “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

    “Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.”

    “Really pay attention to negative feedback and solicit it, particularly from friends. … Hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.”

    “You want to have a future where you’re expecting things to be better, not one where you’re expecting things to be worse.”

    “Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time.”

    Some small tips from Elon Musk’s speeches at various university

    • Work super hard.
    • Attract great people.
    • Focus on the things that actually make a difference.
    • Don’t just follow the trend.
    • Take risks.
    • Focus on signal vs noise.
    • Work with the best possible people.
    • Work hard, and work very smart.

    Elon Musk’s work formula

    1. Practice managing cortisol

    The second aspect of this is that when you are with friends, your body gets a rush of serotonin whereas when you are at work, your body gets a rush of cortisol. To adapt biologically to achieve anything that has to do with ~ 16 hours of work per day, one has to embrace a very good response about cortisol rush.

    2. Look to the solution

    No matter what the situation is, you have to look at the situation from the point of view of an problem, and deriving an solution. And this is a hard but possible way to do it.

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    3. Calibrate each task

    Learn to get more efficient at embracing stress. To do this, “calibrate each task”. Think about a simple situation: You head out of your home to catch a flight, and you are stuck in traffic. Your stress level increases very quickly. If you were to calibrate this and say – no matter what the traffic conditions are, no matter what the weather is – the journey to the airport from my home takes ~ 35 mins. Then if you take ~ 55 minutes in hands and travel accordingly you cannot be stressed out.

    4. Do not stress

    Most efficient people do not stress about a problem. They just identify it quickly, plan a good solution, and work on the solution. Their stress level remains low enough, and therefore they are able to make this a habit.

    Rules of success of Elon Musk

    5. Do not let others get stressed out

    When one person in the team panics, many others panic. It is very important to keep a very cool temperament when stressful situations arise. If a soccer team coordinates well, while keeping a cool temperament, they can win a match with one fewer player. But if one player demoralizes the whole team, they can  never win a match.

  • Top Shopify Tools Entrepreneurs Need to Use

    With the emergence of online stores such as Amazon and Flipkart, and their success, more entrepreneurs have realized just how profitable an online store can be. Although, until a few years back, you would have needed an extensive coding knowledge in different frameworks to build your own online store, the game has changed now. Many online eCommerce websites offer a platform allowing you to create your very own Online Store; and as of now, Shopify is the most popular one.

    Shopify

    Shopify
    Shopify

    Shopify is an online platform that offers users all tools and functionalities to create an Online Store and run it efficiently. It allows you to start your online business, market and sell your products, and manage your store in day to day business. Statistics have shown that about 1 million businesses have delivered using Shopify, and have generated a combined sales of over $200 billion.

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    Google Shopping

    Although Shopify gives you everything that is quintessential to run an online marketplace, you still need tools for other relevant work. Be it resizing an image, automation of trivial tasks like marketing, or making business cards, attention to detail is what makes anyone successful. This is why every Shopify user should also use the below mentioned tools, not just to run an online store, but also make sure to make them professional enough to generate revenue.

    Kit
    Burst
    Slogan Maker
    Hatchful
    Image Resizer
    Oberlo
    Printful
    Klaviyo
    PushOwl
    Shopcodes

    Kit

    Kit is a tool offered by Shopify to help you with the social media marketing of your online store. Social Media Marketing is one of the leading marketing techniques and has by far helped most business users in advertising their products and services. Since essentially every internet user has a social media profile, chances are that you will find most of your customers through social media marketing strategies. From launching your store and growing business to email marketing along with sales and conversion, Kit is the extra set of hands you need to focus more on your business.

    Relevant read:

    Burst

    Burst is a free Stock Photo Platform, and is powered by Shopify to offer free and high resolution pictures to users for a perfect blog or website. The photos can be found by category including Home, City, Education, Food among others, with new photos posted every week to keep the stock fresh. The pictures offered by Burst are all free for commercial use for designer, developers, bloggers and entrepreneurs, while also being editable. Burst also offers users some amazing business ideas to choose from a collection of trending and fresh ideas through case studies, marketing analysis, and business model insights.

    Slogan Maker

    As the name suggests, Slogan Maker helps you find and develop eye catching slogans and catchphrases to use in your business. All you need to do is type in the word that you need in the phrase, or the main keyword of your product or service, and the Slogan Maker will automatically generate a slogan for you. A slogan shouldn’t be taken lightly, since some of the most popular brands are recognized by a slogan, and a good catchphrase might also help you grab some of your customers’ attention.

    Hatchful

    Every business, online or retail, needs a good logo to first have an identity and mark its presence. This is where Hatchful comes in handy as a tool, Shopify has to offer. Hatchful is a free logo maker for creating professional-looking logos and allows you to choose from a plethora of free and professionally designed templates. It allows you to add icons and edit the logo as you please with an easy to use interface and let the logo brand your niche.

    Image Resizer

    The worst mistake one can make while starting an online store is taking things lightly, and even worse, disregarding the picture of your product or other images you use. Image Resizer is the tool that takes care of this situation for you. A customer, when purchasing online, literally has to bet his money on the image of the product you have to offer. Resizing the image comes quite in handy, as it optimizes the image for use on the web, while also setting it in accordance with the configuration of the website, to make your online store more professional and appealing.

    Oberlo

    Oberlo is a dropshipping application that works in a business model where you can sell on an online store without having to maintain an inventory. With Oberlo, you can find products to sell online and sell them directly from the manufacturer to the customer. Moreover, with millions of products to sell online and an automation tool like Oberlo, you can focus more on marketing strategies to enhance and scale your business, and create more revenue. Also, once you have made sufficient sales, selling products with Oberlo becomes as simple as clicking a button.

    Printful

    Shopify is a platform to sell your products and sometimes they can include t-shirts, mugs, and other accessories which need on-demand printing. This is where Printful comes in. You can connect Printful with your Shopify store and generate an image of the product with the desired print or embroidery from a collection of 228 different products. It is more of a dropshipping service where all you will receive is the order notification and Printful will take care of the rest.

    Klaviyo

    Klaviyo is a marketing platform that helps you enhance your marketing and advertising strategy with a more personalized approach. Klaviyo offers trigger flows based on dates, events, and memberships for a more optimized and targeted marketing campaign, and needless to say, the better the marketing, the more is the revenue generated. Moreover, with the use of data science to predict risks, sending time, and product recommendations, users get the most out of a marketing tool with Klaviyo.

    Also read:

    PushOwl

    On multiple occasions, users abandon their shopping cart, and this could be the case even with your online store. PushOwl is a web push notification application that comes quite in handy in such situations. It sends out automatic notifications for cart recovery, keeps tabs of and retargets regular visitors to send notifications regarding price drops, product availability and shipping, and offers users with the best push notification services as the most integrated browser push application. PushOwl also helps users with retention marketing as well as CRO.

    Shopcodes

    Shopcodes is a tool built for creating QR codes for customers so they can simply make a purchase by scanning the code. QR codes are making rounds on the internet as the more convenient method to make payments and purchases, and this opportunity is offered by Shopify to its users through Shopcodes. When you make easy purchase and offer users a better customer experience from other websites, you create more loyal customers even without affiliate marketing. Moreover, you can analyze the scans and look into how many purchases were made through the QR code.

  • Everything About Richard Branson: Founder of Virgin Group

    We all have heard of the company Virgin Group. The credit for the success of the Virgin Group goes to Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group. Richard is a business tycoon and philanthropist who owns the Virgin group. With over 400 companies under its name, Virgin group is one of the biggest parenting company. An entrepreneur, Branson has lived an extraordinary life and has faced the ups and downs which are a part of life. By embracing his moments of success and struggles, Branson has been able to learn from his tough days!

    Richard Branson – Biography

    Name Richard Branson
    Born Blackheath, London, United Kingdom
    Age 70
    Citizenship British
    Education Scaitcliffe School, Stowe School
    Title Founder of Virgin Group
    Occupation Businessman, Author
    Net Worth $4.8 billion (Forbes 2020)
    Awards The Drum’s Lifetime Achievement Award

    Discover more about Richard Branson-

    Why Branson is one of the Best Entrepreneurs?
    Initial days of Richard Branson
    Ups and Lows of Virgin Records
    Diversifying the Virgin Groups
    Companies Launched by Richard Branson
    The Philanthropist Branson
    Richard Branson – Honors and Awards

    Why Branson is one of the Best Entrepreneurs?

    With a knack of making money, Branson could sense an opportunity where there was no scope of making money. Virgin Records was his first venture as an entrepreneur. The company’s first record shop was situated in Oxfordshire, England. However, his efforts in music lead him to raise his empire and establish Virgin Atlantic. Today, at the age of 67, he is still working to expand his legacy!

    Initial days of Richard Branson

    Born in 1950 in Surrey, England, Branson did not perform well in studies. At the age of 16, he decided to drop out of school. This paved the way for him to establish Student. This was a youth-culture magazine for students. The first issue of the magazine came in 1966 and it sold around $8,000 in advertising and 50,000 in copies.

    His location in London enabled him to take a deep interest in the British music scene. This paved the way for the birth of the Virgin. This was a mail-order company that funded his magazine. Furthermore, the company’s earnings enabled Richard Branson to open up a record shop in Oxford Street, London.

    Success story of Richard Branson
    Sir Richard Branson

    The very first signing of the company was Mike Oldfield in 1973. His song Tubular Bells topped the UK music charts for 247 weeks. Well, this stunning success of the company shows the ability of Richard Branson to spot talent. This was just the beginning of many more successful signings for the company. later on, the company signed many more artists like Rolling Stone, Sex Pistols, and Culture Club.

    Ups and Lows of Virgin Records

    However, the company was not able to hold up to the mountain of success for a very long time. The financial struggles haunted the company in 1992. Therefore, the company was having problems staying afloat in the circuit. The very next year, Branson had to sell the company to THORN EMI for $1 billion. To keep himself in the entrepreneurship line, Branson added two travel companies under his name. The brands were Voyager Group and Virgin Atlantic.

    Selling the Virgin Records was never easy for Branson. He was mentally affected by his loss. However, he never let the negativity affect his life. In the same year, he opened up another company named Virgin Radio. After three years, the company signed many big artists like Tom Jones and many more to name.

    Success story of Richard Branson
    Virgin Logo

    Apart from selling Virgin Radio, he had to face the setbacks of the failures of many companies. The companies under his belt like Virgin Cola, Virgin Cosmetics, and Virgin Brides were failures in the circuit. In 2012, the company had to stop the production of the drink. His company, the Virgin Brides was a short-lived venture. This brand stopped operating in 2007.

    Although all these ventures stopped operating, Branson was never disappointed in his efforts. He learned from every failure and hence came back better with a new company.

    Diversifying the Virgin Groups

    Branson, after going through the failures of many ventures, decided to diversify his business. He added an airline named Virgin Atlantic in 1984. His other big firms include Virgin Media, Virgin Money, and Trains. All these companies fall into one parent organization, named Virgin Group. Presently, this group oversees more than 200 companies. These companies are present in Canada, Australia, the United States, and parts of Asia, Europe, and South Africa.

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    Companies Launched by Richard Branson

    Year Company Name
    1969 Virgin
    1970 Virgin Mail Order Records
    1972 Virgin Records
    1981 Virgin Books, Virgin Video
    1984 Virgin Atlantic
    1997 Virgin Trains
    2001 Virgin Mobile as a joint venture with Sprint
    2004 Virgin Galactic

    Branson has tried his hand in Space and high-speed travel too. His spaceship company is known as Virgin Galactic. He had established this company to achieve his dream of exploring the outer world. The creation of Space and high-speed travel gives us proof that Branson has an exemplary vision. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo has successfully made its first test flight of the craft’s atmospheric re-entry to the system. This spaceship could accommodate six passengers and two pilots.

    Since Branson brought up Virgin Galactic, more than 700 customers have brought tickets to space flights.

    Being a hard taskmaster and a highly ambitious business leader, he has worked for the development of mankind in every possible way he could.

    His latest investment was in Hyperloop One. The company builds high-speed transport and cargo pods that travel at a speed of 250 miles per hour. To achieve this speed, the magnetic levitation moves the pods on the top of a track resulting in airline speeds that led the pods to move over long distances.

    The Philanthropist Branson

    The story of Branson is not only about creating wealth, but it is about putting the hard work into worthy causes. Branson started his first charity at the age of 17. Since then, he has been donating for the betterment of society. His philanthropic works include improving the livelihood of the backward sections in the African continent. Also, he has pledged to donate $3 billion to address the issue of global warming that has been haunting the world.


    Richard Branson – Honors and Awards

    Well, taking about Richard Branson education, In 1993, he was the recipient of the honorary degree of Doctor of Technology from Loughborough University. In 2000, he was knighted by Charles, Prince of Wales. Mr. Branson was inducted into the International Air and Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego and space Musem. He has been a regular member of the greatest Britons too. Due to his exemplary work, he received the Business Peace Award by the Business for Peace Foundation in Norway.

    Being an entrepreneur who had to face struggles during his life as a businessman, Mr. Branson is one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the modern-day era.

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  • NR Narayana Murthy to Chair the Jury to Select the First Ever TiE Global Entrepreneurship Awards

    TiE Global announces Global Entrepreneurship Awards for recognising and celebrating entrepreneurial excellence and the support systems for entrepreneurs.

    • These awards will recognise outstanding entrepreneurs who are shaping our world and also the key ecosystem players who are enabling the entrepreneurship to flourish.
    • These awards will be announced and presented on 10th December,2020 during the TiE Global Summit attended by more than 20000 entrepreneurs from around the world.
    • 6 Outstanding Entrepreneurs and 6 Ecosystem players will be recognised this year, selection is made by an eminent Jury consisting of distinguished personalities from around the world, chaired by N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder Infosys Technologies.

    California November 25, 2020: TiE Global Entrepreneurship Awards are designed to honour the outstanding entrepreneurs for their stellar performance and recognising the key ecosystem stakeholders for their contribution to the start-up innovation, entrepreneurship development and investment climate. This initiative is in live with TiE’s mission of Fostering Entrepreneurship.

    Mahavir Sharma, TiE Global Chair says that TiE has been working with entrepreneurs for almost 30 years to promote entrepreneurship. I am happy that we finally decided to recognise these stellar individuals and organisations who are making entrepreneurship not only possible but also accessible to anyone anywhere in the world.

    Explaining the structure of these awards, Kali Gadiraju, Awards Chair and member of TiE Global Board of Trustees said, “There are two awards to honour lifetime achievements of first generation and second generation entrepreneurs and four awards to recognise outstanding entrepreneurs who created great Unicorns in lightning speed, rapidly listed, bootstrapped and very innovative. To ensure the selection process is thorough and objective, the team is mentored by leading Professors, Dr. Bala Balachandran of Kellogg School of Management and Prof. Kavil Ramachandran of Indian School of Business.”

    Entrepreneurial ecosystems play a crucial role in fostering entrepreneurship and to recognize them we have awards for Angel Networks, VC Funds, Incubator/Accelerators, Universities, Corporates and Government ecosystems. The jury for the awards is headed by Mr. Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys Technologies and consists of distinguished personalities from around the world, viz. Dr. Jagdish Sheth, Emory University, Gururaj ‘Desh’ Deshpande, Sparta Group LLP, Ms. Ping Fu, Cofounder Geomagic, Dr. Simon Galpin, Sr. Advisor Bahrain Economic Dev Board, Richard Kalgaard, Publisher Forbes Magazine, Dr. Orna Berry, Chief Scientist Israel, Dr. Steven Sonsonio, Professor London Business School, Tim Draper, Founder Draper University.

    Sridhar Reddy, Chair for the TiE Global Summit said, “this will be a remarkable entrepreneurship event conducted virtually and running non-stop for 60 hours. This year’s theme being entrepreneurship 360 will have several tracks viz. 250+ star speakers attended by more than 20000 entrepreneurs, 500+ curated 1-on-1 start-up meetings with mentors, 200+ investors from across the globe and TiE Global Awards presentation ceremony. This is the go to place for founders to network with global entrepreneurs and get visibility for their businesses, find advisors, investors, corporate honchos during these 3 days.”

    Tie Gloabal Summit
    Tie Gloabal Summit

    TiE Global Entrepreneurship Awards https://tieglobalawards.org/ TiE Global https://tie.org/

    About TiE Global:

    • TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneurs) is one of the largest global non-profit organizations focused on fostering entrepreneurship.
    • From our humble beginnings in Silicon Valley 28 years ago, TiE has grown to 61 Chapters in 14 countries with more than 15000 members worldwide and covers all the HNI’s into Tech, Angel investors and VC’s.
    • TiE Impact till date: 200 Billion+ USD through our angel and networking events. Most of it in India from Indian Citizens and Indian diaspora from outside and also within US by Indian Diaspora. Aim to bring in that much into India in the next few years from outside and much more from within India.
    • Impacted 50k students and women, future entrepreneurs by way of mentoring and aim to take it to one million in the next few years.
    • Our chapters worldwide organize 1000s of events and programs throughout the year to educate, inspire, mentor and fund entrepreneurs. But the TiE Global Summit (TGS) is the largest and the most prestigious event of all.
    • TiE is actively engaged with all the entrepreneurial ecosystem players viz. Angel Networks, VCs, Incubators, Accelerators, Educational Institutions, Governments, Corporates and NGOs for the purpose of fostering entrepreneurship.

  • Ashok Soota, Chairman of Happiest Minds

    Ashok Soota is the Executive Chairman of Happiest Minds Technologies Limited. He is one of the pioneering leaders in the field of IT industry with 30 years of experience. He has debuted on the 2020 edition of the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich list with 282th rank with a wealth of ₹3,700 Crore. He headed three IT outsourcing company and Happiest Minds is his latest start up.

    Ashok Soota- Biography

    Name Ashok Soota
    Born 12 November, 1942
    Age 77 (2020)
    Nationality Indian
    Hometown Delhi, India
    Education Asian Institute of Management and IIT Roorke
    Profession Entrepreneur, Businessman
    Position Chairman and Co-founder, Happiest Minds Technologies Limited

    Ashok Soota- Personal Life
    Ashok Soota- Education
    Ashok Soota- Professional Life
    Ashok Soota- Happiest Minds Technologies
    Ashok Soota- IPO
    Ashok Soota- Philanthropist
    Ashok Soota- Awards

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    Ashok Soota- Personal Life

    Ashok Soota was born in, what is presently known as, the North West Frontier of Pakistan (NWFP). He was the fourth child among six. The family lived in Murre. His father was employed as a doctor in the British Indian Army. After the partition, the family lived shortly in Delhi and later in Lucknow.

    He completed his formal education from India and higher studies from abroad. He is an entrepreneur, who played a vital role in establishing IT externalizing company. He has proved that age limits no boundaries. At 77, he is regarded as one of the most influential entrepreneur. All the lifetime achievement awards did not let him rest as he is determined to work for the growth and betterment of IT industry.

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    Ashok Soota- Education

    He completed his Senior Cambridge at Delhi in 1958. He pursued intermediate science from La Martinere, Lucknow. His higher secondary education was completed by 1960. He opted for bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Roorke (at present- Institute of Technology Roorke). He obtained his graduation degree in 1964. He later pursued Masters in Business management from the Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Phillipines in 1973. He is the co-author of “Entrepreneurship Simplified. “

    Ashok Soota- Professional Life

    In 1965, he started his career with the Shriram Group of Industries in India. He served as the president of Wipro Infotech for  around 15 years term starting from 1984 to 1999. During his term of office, Wipro’s IT business grew from $2 million in 1984 to a $500 million run-rate in 1999.

    In 1999, he co-founded an Indian multinational IT outsourcing company called Mindtree, headquartered in Bangalore, India and New Jersey. The company employs approximately 20,212 employees with the current revenue of $1 billion. The offices run from America, Europe and Asia.

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    Ashok Soota- Happiest Minds Technologies

    Happiest Minds Logo

    In 2011, he co-founded an IT externalizing company named Happiest Minds Technologies Limited, headquartered in Bangalore, India. A company known for digital transformation, infrastructure, security and product engineering services. It also has its global presence in the United States, United Kingdoms, Canada, Singapore and Australia.

    The business units of the company is aided by three Centres of Excellence which are Internet of Things, Analytics / Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Process Automation. The company deliver its services across industry sectors such as Edutech, Hi-tech, Retail, Industrial, Manufacturing, Banking, Financial services and Insurance, Engineering Research and Development, Travel, Media and Entertainment.

    The shares of Happiest minds were sold at a price range of 165-166 rupees ($2.3) apiece. Ashok sold a part of his stake and raised 1.4 billion rupees. Moreover, the company gets 97% of its revenue from digital services in comparison with 30-50% of its local peers.

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    Ashok Soota- IPO

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashok thought of stuffing the Initial Public Offer (IPO) and almost 76% of his revenue was not affected by the lockdown. The IPO of his latest startup, Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd. was oversubscribed 151 times, and it became India’s most successful first-time share sales of this decade. It has raised ₹700 crore. The company is expected to expand at an annualised rate of 20%, almost twice of the industry growth rate. While the IPO of Mindtree Ltd. was oversubscribed more than 100 times. He took Mindtree public in 2007. The oversubscription indicates the premium at which maximal Indian market is priced at.

    Ashok Soota- Philanthropist

    • He is the founding chief patron of the Samarthanam Trust for the disabled. This organisation works for the betterment of disabled people to excel in every field of life.
    • He is the founding trustee of Ashirvadam. A NGO that lays emphasis on the environment and works to uplift the underprivileged. It supports the needy in terms of education, vocational training and medical support.

    Ashok Soota- Awards

    • In 1992, he received an award for the Electronics Man of the year by the Electronic Component Industries Association (ELCINA).
    • In 1994, he received the IT Man of the Year by Dataquest.
    • In 1997, he received the IT Man of the Year by Computer World magazine.
    • In 2002, he was recognized as the person who brought IT industry to a place where people could feel its presence in their daily life. Therefore, the e-information Systems, Security, and AuditAssociation proudly accorded him with the highest award of the HONORARY FELLOWSHIP of the society .
    • He was conferred with the Prof S N Mitra Award from the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the Golden Peacock Award for Technology Leadership.
    • He got the “Most Innovative People Award” presented on the world’s top 10 personage at the 2008 World Summit and Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WSIE). He was recognized among the field of Knowledge innovation.
    • In 2015, he received the Agile Lifetime Achievement Unicom.
    • In 2016, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Express IT Awards.
    • In 2018, he was conferred with the CyberMedia ICT Business Award.
    • In 2018, he received the Chiratae Lifetime Achievement.

  • Productivity-Boosting Hacks for Solopreneurs That Work

    The life of a solopreneur is ideal for motivated individuals. Your success has a tangible correlation to the effort you put in. While this style of work has its benefits, it can cause you to push too hard or become too comfortable. Either way, you can lose sight of what initially drew you to the endeavor, which can take the magic out of solopreneurship.

    Moreover, your means of escaping work can become what keeps you from moving forward. This is why it’s important to focus on getting as much out of every hour you put in as possible, leaving you with more time to tend to your personal needs and well-being. With this in mind, here are some productivity hacks for solopreneurs that really work.

    5 Useful Productivity Hacks for Solopreneurs

    1. Be SMART

    As you might remember from school, SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. After identifying your goal for a given time period, you can answer questions such as:

    • Do you know exactly what you want to achieve? Is it specific enough?
    • Can you measure the goal so that you know when you’ve reached it?
    • Is the work required to achieve the goal feasible? It can be challenging, but you shouldn’t take on the world.
    • Will you be able to achieve it given your current circumstances?
    • When should you have reached the end?

    Setting your objectives this way can help you stay focused on what matters and avoid the time-wasting activities that hold you back. Remember to value your time and prioritize based on what matters most. Clearly defining your work hours is a good idea.

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    2. Delegate

    Are you taking on every task yourself? Perhaps there are some things that you can outsource. In doing so, you can avoid menial time-sucks and focus on doing what you do best. Outsourcing also allows you to hand certain tasks over to freelancers who are more skilled or experienced in doing them, which can render a better result.

    productivity hacks for solopreneurs
    Productivity-Boosting Hacks for Solopreneurs That Work

    3. Rest

    You can only speed through so many sleepless nights before you crash, forcing you into a recovery period that negates any lead you might have gained by working overtime. Adequate rest isn’t some sort of guilty pleasure; it’s a necessary element of productivity.

    Make sure that your sleeping environment is calibrated to help you get enough quality shuteye at the end of each day. This can include using pillows with memory foam that prevent neck pain and headaches. Avoiding electronics before bed and sticking to a proper sleep schedule will also help. Don’t forget to keep your room cool, dark, and quiet.

    8 Productivity Hacks for Entrepreneurs

    4. Value Yourself

    In a similar vein, don’t neglect the other elements of a healthy lifestyle. This includes exercise, healthy eating, and time outside in nature. Dedicating a few hours of the week to friends and family is key to staying sane. The better you feel, the more you can achieve.

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    5. Use Tools

    With the myriad of productivity, organization, tracking, and task management tools available today, it would be a grave mistake not to leverage their potential. There are several great options to choose from across each category. This includes software for communication, accounting, note-taking, project management, and more.

    Todoist, for instance, helps you stay organized by providing a central platform for handling tasks and collaborating with others. Boosted provides time-tracking, reports, and features such as a Pomodoro timer to help you ease through work, while Quickbooks makes managing your money a breeze. It’s up to you to explore and find which tools serve you best.

    Remember that procrastination begets more procrastination and the same is true for distractions. At the same time, it’s important to maintain a balance and avoid overworking yourself. Start early, stay on track, and you’ll reach peak productivity in no time.

  • Entrepreneurship and Building a Restaurant Branding among tough competition: Shreya Sabharwal

    The road to entrepreneurship is often a deceitful path filled with unexpected hindrance, roadblocks and complications. There are lot of sleepless nights, planning, consistency and funding that goes into being an Entrepreneur. Successful restaurant branding can make your eatery stand out. Yet despite all these hardships, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur but Entrepreneurship and taking risk is not everybody’s cup of tea.

    Whether you’re opening your very first location or considering a rebranding effort, strong restaurant branding is more crucial to your bottom line than ever. Even if a restaurant has a recognizable logo or a catchy tagline, failure to understand what drives customers can create roadblocks to success. Restaurant marketing ideas and trends are not that easy to implement.

    Strong restaurant branding efforts will affect everything from customer loyalty to your ability to expand into a regional or national franchise. And while how you target your customers might change over time, finding strategies to show your diners who you are as a company will help you stand out from the crowd for years to come.

    Many young college graduates jump into an entrepreneurial world carrying an aim to make Millions, but they forget that they need to grind themselves for years to become a successful one.

    As Entrepreneurship is not about being rich in a day instead it’s about building a solution from scratch.

    One needs to have a certain mindset to be a successful Entrepreneur and most importantly “just be ready not to give-up”, the only golden rule of Entrepreneurship. It’s a proof that you do not need college degrees to make your business successful. Instead, you need a holistic approach to learning. Be a lifelong learner and learn from any source you can come across. Rather than trying to learn everything about everything, you should focus your efforts on a specific subject and become an expert in that domain.

    With this dream which I used to see day and night, I started my journey quite early when I was just 21 years, it’s always better if you have a supportive family and an incessant attitude which keeps you going. I have seen so much and gained a lot in such a short span of time. While I decided to pursue the path of Entrepreneurship and took risk by starting my own venture, there were numerous challenges came in between but I followed my instinct and faith instead of choosing a comfortable job and constant income.

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    StartupTalkyAvantika Bhardwaj

    How it All Started?

    I was always a party person and while I used to go out I realised one thing which stayed in my mind forever and gave a birth to a business plan.

    Our creative agency is based in Delhi/Bangalore that works exclusively for restaurant marketing and we give 360-degree marketing solution to the restaurants and help them to turn it into a brand.

    While I started my journey, I was all alone but in a short span of time, I have built a team of 20 young creative minds and together we are helping brands to recite their stories. We are with the brands from the very beginning and works on the minute details and work on the loopholes which is unseen and gets avoided by the owners.

    When the food outlet/restaurant enters into the market or plans to expand, we come up as the consultants and work on the strategy of the launch and help the brands to expand in the market by using various strategies be it launch, events meet ups, social media or Public Relation. We provide 360 degree solutions and work on the strategic marketing, so our clients could get seamless start in the market.

    We are perfecting our services every stretch of the inch and still evolving, the company now specializes in Marketing and PR handling for restaurants and hotels. I believe, “if any brand gets proper guidance it will significantly increase the brand recognition and will sustain in the market in the long run. The communication and engagement is entirely important and we play as the communication strategist or Image consultants for our clients.”

    It is an extreme honour for us to be one of the most promising company, surviving in the restaurant industry. Though it has been immensely challenging yet with the strong thoughts and progressive mind we have successfully made our name in the Industry and we have created a milestone by making our client’s portfolio of 120+ in a year. We, at Square Fork, keep on implementing new strategies to ensure all the clients get maximum outcome from the services being provided by us.

    Although most large organizations and startups focus on sales numbers (quantity) but we have a different take on things. Young entrepreneurs should go for quality rather than quantity. This word also reflects the line someone said, “Quality is much better than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”

    Give attention to detail, aim for perfection and deliver a quality product to your customers. Square Fork sums it up brilliantly as “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” When you manage to achieve this feat, sales numbers will increase automatically.

    I believe as a young women entrepreneur, I could be some amount of an inspiration to all those youngsters who are timorous and apprehensive of trying. I would say, Everybody wants to be their own boss but to start your own business, you need a lot, one needs load of patience and persistence, with tenacious mind and soul and that different concept of business which makes you different at some point from the existing players in the market.

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    Never get tired of those umpteen trials but wait for that one success and I am telling you success will surely come to your way if you won’t give up. Do not be bothered by initial setbacks and learn from your mistakes. Be proactive when doing market research and see how future consumer needs are going to change and what kind of products will be required to fulfil those needs. If you can get do this accurately then you’ll definitely have an upper hand over your competitors.

    ” Take calculated risks to help your start up take giant leaps towards business success. Lastly, treat every day, as if it is your last because this will make your fearless.”
    -Shreya Sabharwal

    Talking about Square Fork’s growth Shreya said – I have a clear vision of taking this business to an International level in next 5 years and we will expand our services to other industries as well as I have that strong faith in me and my team that we will be able to prosper into a bigger brand name in the forthcoming years.